The Search For Purpose
by gfdhgfdjzdjzfdjgz798gjd9ug450e
Summary: A young boy rescued by the Jedi is brought to the Temple and begins his training to one day become a proper Jedi himself. His life takes a turn when he is approached by two mysterious women who offer to train him instead. The story takes part before and during the Clone Wars and features many well known characters alongside many new and interesting ones.
1. Chapter 1

_Before we begin I want to clear up a couple of things first:_

_blah, blah, blah, I don't own Star Wars and blah blah blah_

_ok let's move on.._

_This is a rewrite of my first ever fic called The Last of The Forgotten Legacy. For the people that have read the original work I want to say a huge thank you._

_Now why the rewrite you might ask (if you're a new reader you can skip this part)?_

_Well first of all my current style of writing is a bit different and my English has improved overall. After that the paragraphs in the original work were absolutely terrible (multiple lines of dialogue from different characters in the same paragraph horrible), so I wanted to fix that. And the most important thing is the story. I am going to be changing a lot of things in this department. I don't want to say much about the changes but what is going to get changed is some of the timeline discrepancies, certain characters (one particular one is going to get removed completely as I see no use in them) and the last third or so of the work which will be longer, feature more arcs, improved character interactions and development and it will get rid of an ark I personally grew to hate and replace it with a new and interesting one._

_Now with that said I hope you will enjoy the new, (hopefully) improved and longer version of my first ever completed work._

* * *

**Star Wars: The Search For Purpose**

Chapter 1: The Awakening (33 BBY)

It was a normal day at the Jedi temple on Coruscant. Jedi were conversing with each other, temple guards were walking around in their usual patrol patterns and Master's were taking their Padawans to complete their lessons. Qui-Gon Jinn was walking to his quarters when suddenly he get hit by a weird feeling. He felt an odd and unexplainable disturbance in the Force. It was trying to tell him something, so he went to his quarters as fast as he could in order to meditate about it in peace.

He entered his small quarters. They were bigger than the Jedi knight quarters but not by a lot. It only had a bed with a small chair by its side and a small drawer, so he could keep his belongings outside of plain sight. He kneeled down on the ground. He began to focus on the odd disturbance he had felt.

_He woke up in the middle of a field. By the look of the yellow and orange grasslands around him he concluded that he was probably on Dantooine or a planet exactly like it. He stood up and took in his surroundings. He saw a small hill to his south, a camp to his east and a burning village engulfed in fog to the west. He made his way to the village._

_Qui-Gon made it to the village, but he couldn't go through the fog. He was trying to find a way through until suddenly, he heard crying coming from inside the wall of mist. _

"_Who's there?" he called out hoping for a response. _

_But there was no response and the crying continued. He continued to try and find a way through the fog. He was beginning to give up until a small outline of a human child appeared on the other side of the fog. The crying stopped._

"_Who are you?" Qui-Gon asked with a concerned look on his face. The boy didn't answer or move at all. Then another outline of a man that appeared to be wearing armor crept up behind the boy, grabbed him and started pulling him away. _

_Before the small child disappeared around the corner he managed to let out a scream "Help me, please!"._

As soon as Qui-Gon came to his senses, he stood up and headed straight to the landing platforms outside the temple. On the way there he encountered Obi-Wan.

"Come with me now!" he demanded in a very serious tone as he walked past him.

"_Well somebody woke up on the wrong side of bed," _Obi-Wan thought to himself before he went after Qui-Gon.

"Why are you in such a rush, Master?" Obi-Wan put his hand on Qui-Gon's shoulder and pulled him back to stop him.

"I had a vision, we have to hurry. I'll tell you about it on the ship." They made their way to the ship and soon they were in hyperspace on their way to Dantooine.

"So, what you're telling me is that you think somebody attacked a village in the middle of nowhere on a peaceful planet and kidnapped a child," Obi-Wan said, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. "Seems odd."

"Well that's what my vision told me," Qui-Gon said, sitting in the captain's chair.

"Do you know where the village is?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No, not yet at least. But I'm sure we'll learn the location quickly. Dantooine doesn't have many populated areas. The only really populated areas are the old Jedi enclave and a couple of villages around it," Qui-Gon answered, putting his hand under his chin as if it helped him think.

They landed on Dantooine and not long after that they intercepted a couple of locals that were about to leave town. Qui-Gon inquired about the village he saw in his vision. Luckily for them one of the two men they stopped knew of the location and pointed them in the correct way.

By nightfall they made it to the outskirts of the village. They went up to the top of a small hill to scout out the area with their macrobinoculars.

"I don't see anything," Obi-Wan said in a confused tone.

The village seemed completely normal. No signs of struggle or anything. It was late so there weren't many people outside but many of the houses were still lit up.

"That's odd," Qui-Gon remarked.

They hopped back onto their speeder bikes and proceeded to the village. As they got closer and closer Qui-Gon started feeling an odd presence – a force signature stronger than any but his and his Padawan's. Whoever he was looking for, they were definitely there.

Stopping their bikes and dismounting them, they continued their conversation. "Do you sense that?" Qui-Gon asked Obi-Wan. He was talking about the powerful Force presence.

"I do," his Padawan confirmed with a firm nod.

Qui-Gon reached out to the Force to guide him and in a couple of moments he was able to pinpoint the direction of the presence. "Come."

The sudden sound of a struggle quickened their pace. Qui-Gon stopped at a corner of a building, Obi-Wan following his lead. Qui-Gon could make out 4 armored and armed people standing outside the door of a house.

"Just give us the damn kid," a raspy voice demanded. The voice was a bit muffled, meaning that whoever said that more than likely wore some sort of head protection.

"We should intervene," Obi-Wan suggested already shifting his weight forward only to be stopped by Qui-Gon's hand.

"Patience." Meanwhile the struggle continued.

"No!" a woman cried out.

"Lady don't make us hurt you," a different person warned her.

"Why do you out of all people need him?" the same woman screamed at them again.

"A job's a job lady. We don't ask questions if we get paid enough."

"Marfri be reasonable," a new voice, this time a completely clear one said.

The woman cried loudly before responding. "You're willing to give up our child? You coward," she screamed at him all the while still crying loudly.

The noise of the confrontation began attracting attention but as soon as the other villagers saw the armed men they ran back home or turned their lights off and probably locked their doors in fear of their safety.

"They'll get him anyway," he tried to calm her. "The only difference will be if we survive or get shot."

"Then I'd rather die!" the woman yelled. All of the sudden a flash of red light could be seen with the sound of a blaster firing.

One of the armored men dropped to one knee while the other three raised their own blasters and began firing at the door and a few seconds later the encounter was over, and everything went quiet. The only thing that could be heard was one of the armored men barking orders. Two of them helped their wounded brother up and led him away while the other entered the house and came out moments after, dragging a crying child behind him.

"Master, why didn't we do anything?" Obi-Wan asked a bit too loud for comfort. It was the first time in ages Qui-Gon sensed emotional turmoil within him.

Jinn sighed. "It was as the Force willed. They had a choice and we saw what their decision was. If we got involved do you think anything would've happened differently," Jinn reasoned. "At least now we still have the element of surprise. Come on, let's follow them."

Obi-Wan obviously wasn't happy about the situation but there was nothing Qui-Gon could do about it. If they got involved the situation could've ended in the same way with a chance of putting the rest of the village in harm's way aswel.

The 4 men jumped into a speeder and rode off into the grasslands with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan sticking back just far enough that they could about make out where they were going. The dark night and many hills they encountered on the way didn't help their chase but after a grueling ten or so minutes of chasing the group a dim light appeared in the distance. Seeing the speeder stop close to it, the two Jedi stopped too and got off their bikes a fair distance away, continuing the rest of the way on foot.

Back in the village Qui-Gon couldn't make out what kind of armor the men were wearing but after seeing it lit up by the campfire that produced a welcoming and warm orange glow, he could easily make out that the men were in fact Mandalorians. He had dealt with them before – he had even spent a year on Mandalore with Obi-Wan protecting the now ruler of Mandalore Duchess Satine Kryze from various insurgent groups and bounty hunters who were out for her head. During his time there he had learned that Mandalorians can be the most formidable of opponents and should not be taken lightly under any circumstance, even when caught completely off-guard..

"Mandalorian bounty hunters," his Padawan whispered.

"And a formidable group at that," Qui-Gon added. The count of Mandalorians grew from four to six. The two that awaited them at their camp had already started taking care of the wounded one. One of the other three put the child in binders while the other two appeared to be talking to somebody over a holoprojector.

The Jedi moved closer to a tree that was very close to the camp. There they could just about hear what they were talking about.

"Do you have the child?" the man in the hologram asked. His voice was very loud with a clear hint of annoyance in his tone.

"We do. We'll bring him to you tomorrow just like we arranged," the bounty hunter answered.

"I'm afraid that the conditions of our agreement have... changed. I require the child now."

"What's with the haste? He's just a harmless kid."

"There have been certain complications I would like both parties to avoid," the man said.

"What sort of complications?" the Mandalorian asked.

"A Jedi Master has been seen landing on this planet earlier today."

"That is problematic," he agreed. "Fine. We'll get him to you as fast as possible, but you'll pay us more."

"Certainly. My master is a wealthy man, he will reward you more than handsomely for your services." And with that the holoprojection turned off.

"Well boys let's pack up. We're heading out early," the bounty hunter who had been speaking to the man in the holo ordered.

"What do we do?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I'll grab their attention while you go around and disable their speeder," Qui-Gon said immediately starting for the bounty hunters after, leaving his padawan with no chance to argue with his order and it wasn't like Obi-Wan did ever argue against his orders.

"Bounty hunters," Jinn called out loud enough to grab their attention. "You seem to have taken something that isn't yours."

"Jedi!" their leader said and, in a moment's notice a flurry of yellow blaster bolts were already flying his way. He managed to role away into a small dip in the ground, just about evading the blaster fire. The heavy blaster fire continued for a couple of moments before stopping.

"Get to the speeder!" one of the bounty hunters yelled out loud.

Jinn poked his head out only to be met with a blaster bolt hitting the ground next to him, burning the grass. Then he sat back and waited until…

"It isn't working!"

Qui-Gon used that moment to jump out of the dip and activated his green lightsaber. Catching the mandalorians off-guard as they started to disembark from their disabled speeder, he made up as much ground as possible before they started shooting at him once again.

The first shot that hit him he managed to deflect back at its source, right in the man's abdomen. Him being alone against now five or actually four and a half Mandalorian bounty hunters with no cover around would be a nearly impossible fight to win if he didn't have backup in the form of Obi-Wan who emerged, jumping over the speeder and engaging them from the other side.

Their attention split between the two Jedi, the resulting blaster fire on both sides reduced to the point where it was possible to accurately deflect. One of the bounty hunters seemingly aware of that used his jetpack to get high up but found himself unconscious moments later after Qui-Gon used the Force to propel him straight into the tree he and Obi-Wan were hiding behind earlier. Kenobi in the meantime managed to take out the already wounded Mandalorian from earlier and was on the brink of defeating the other one. And he did just that at the same time as Qui-Gon deflected a blaster bolt straight back at the Mandalorian's head.

With that silence reclaimed ownership over the calm windy plains once again and the two Jedi were left alone with a bunch of smoking bodies.

"Where did the kid go?" Obi-Wan asked.

"There," Qui-Gon said pointing at the dip he was hiding in earlier.

As the two approached the dip the sound of sobbing became louder and louder. When the boy saw them he began backing off clumsily. He was afraid and in shock, so Qui-Gon used the Force to calm him down.

"We're not here to hurt you," Obi-Wan told the boy.

"Who are you?" the boy asked.

"I am Qui-Gon and this is Obi-Wan," he answered. "And what is your name?"

"I'm Cindo. T-thank you for saving me."

"No thanks is required," Obi-Wan said with a smile while his master carefully removed the boy's braces with his lightsaber. "It is our duty after all."

"And it is also what you could be taught to do," Qui-Gon added.

"Me? Why?"

"You are a powerful boy. You posses the ability to use something that not many others can, the Force. We can teach you how to use it if you're willing come with us."

"I don't really have a choice do I?" Tears began forming in Cindo's eyes. The shock and fear he had experienced from being so close to a battle made him forget about what had happened earlier but the memories began creeping back into hiss mind.

"We're sorry about your family," Qui-Gon said, putting a hand on his shoulder gently. "We were too late to do anything."

* * *

"_Why did you bring us here?"_

"_There has been a shift in the Force. Have you sensed it?"_

"_Yes. We both did."_

"_Then you know what this is about."_

"_The boy."_

"_He is the last of our bloodline and in the coming times I fear that he will not survive."_

"_What do you wish us to do?"_

"_The boy needs guidance. Whether it be through good or bad you two need to guide him and teach him lest he falls to the dark side."_

"_We will not let that happen."_

* * *

_Update 05. 07. 2019:_

_\- fixed grammar and incomplete sentences_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Initiation (33 BBY)

To become a Jedi was to forget your past life. Everything from your family, friends, the things that belonged to you, all those things had to be left behind to become a Jedi. For the people that were already Jedi this might've seemed understandable and not too drastic of a measure to take to protect the galaxy but for a 5-year-old child who had just lost his parents it was completely different.

Was he just supposed to let all the memories fade into nothing?

For the other younglings who were taken from their homes on their parents' accord at a younger age than his it was different. They would feel proud of joining the order and through years of hard physical and mental training their memories of their family would fade into nothingness only to be replaced with a lifelong oath to the order, but Cindo had formed a strong bond with his parents as he was taught that family was the most important thing in life. And that was the only small consolidation – Qui-Gon had told him that the Jedi would become his new family. But it still didn't wipe away the things that happened a mere day ago.

The ship they travelled on landed on top of a large building and the trio emerged out the door on its left side. Cindo was so mesmerized by the endless kilometers of large skyscrapers and traffic just gliding across the sky that he failed to notice the five large spires that were on the roof of the building. On Dantooine he had seen nothing but his and a couple of other villages. Coruscant on the other hand was an endless sprawling metropolis. He couldn't have helped but gasp and forget everything for just a moment so he could enjoy the breathtaking view.

"It is quite mesmerizing isn't it?" Qui-Gon said, standing next to him on top of the stairs that led down to the floor of the landing pad. "Come."

They took one of the many elevators downwards into the building. The doors moved to the side, revealing a hallway so enormous you could probably park a decently sized freighter in it with next to no trouble. Decorating this hallway were banners, tapestries, pottery, small statuettes and paintings.

"You can go Obi-Wan. I'll take him to the council," Qui-Gon said.

"Of course, Master," his Padawan answered with a bow of his head.

Qui-Gon led Cindo through many similar exquisite hallways. They took another elevator, this time up. They arrived in a half-circle shaped with two long windows, one on each side winding the entire way up to the wall where a single door was.

"Where are we?" Cindo asked. He was so mesmerized by everything else that he forgot to ask a basic question.

"The Jedi temple," Qui-Gon answered. "Your new home." He walked past Cindo and walked through the doorway with Cindo following closely behind.

The room they entered was identical in shape and size, the main difference being the twelve chairs that were evenly spread out in a nearly full circle starting at both sides of the doorway. A human with dark skin and a Zabrak stood by one of the windows discussing something.

"Master Jinn."

"Master Windu, Kolar," Qui-Gon greeted back.

The two Jedi Masters approached the middle of the room where Cindo was standing.

"Potential younglings are to be given to the Temple creche," Windu informed him with a raised brow.

"This one was not on the list," Qui-Gon said.

"Hmm… What is your name?"

"I'm Cindo," he answered.

"He's of correct age but I sense emotional turmoil within him. Fear and sadness," Windu analyzed.

"There was an unfortunate event. He got abducted by some Mandalorian bounty hunters. His mother tried to protect him but her and his father both got shot by them."

Even the shortest of summaries of what happened on that forsaken night a mere day before shook him to his core. He would've… He wanted to break down and cry but it was a moment where he needed to remain brave, after all that was what his parents taught him – to be brave.

"A most unfortunate event," Kolar sympathized. "Cindo listen to me. To become a Jedi is to let go of yourself and your emotions. Your current life will be replaced with a life of learning and keeping peace across the galaxy. There is a danger in lingering on past dark events, so I ask you, will you be able to forget what happened? Are you willing to let your past and your family go?"

Those were hard questions for anybody, but for Cindo they were nearly complicated enough to where he didn't understand most of them. But what he was able to figure out was that this was his opportunity to start anew, with a new family and new and different challenges. But even if he didn't think about it there was only one answer. He had no family left and nobody to go to.

"I will try," Cindo answered.

"Do or do not, there is no try," a voice from behind him suddenly said. Cindo turned and saw a small green creature with pointy ears walking slowly towards them with the help of a walking stick. "Answer the question again you shall, yes," he added.

"I will forget, I promise," Cindo said.

"Promise not to us, but to yourself, you should. Now go, your clan, waiting for you it is."

* * *

_1 year later…_

"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge."

The Jedi code, the philosophy that was at the heart of the Jedi order. Every Jedi was required to know it by heart but not only know how to recite it but to know what each of the five precepts meant. Cindo had been reciting it as many times as he could, trying to get an understanding about what it means. The soft orange light coming from outside the Temple warmed his face and helped him focus.

"That's about the thirty-sixth time you've recited this today," Ahsoka mocked him. She was standing where the door was, on the opposite side of their clan's room.

Cindo was part of the Clawmouse clan. After his evaluation by the High Council he had been brought to the Temple creche and given over to the Jedi caretakers. He had thought that for a boy like him – a human with some features of the Togruta species-like slightly orange skin tan and sharp canine teeth that had been passed down through his family for generations, he would get mocked by everyone. His expectations did not meet reality to his relief. Ahsoka had been the first to approach him and quickly she became Cindo's first friend in the order. For the other eight younglings in the clan it had taken some time for him to get to know them. He had been given new attire – a tan tunic, a leather belt and leather shoes.

For the most part he had been following every single one of the instructions he had been given except for one – to give away all his personal belongings. Cindo had no problem giving away everything he had brought with him except for one thing, a necklace with a locket his parents had given him for his fifth birthday, only a few days before they were murdered by bounty hunters. On the first day he had been asked to forget his past, but for a young boy shaken by the death of his parents such a thing was impossible to do. To just forget the people that had brought him up and taken care of him, to forget the people that are the reason he exists, it was impossible to do. He heeded the warning Master Kolar gave him about the past, yet he could just not forget no matter how hard he tried. So, he decided, that instead of focusing about forgetting he would work hard, giving it his all and then through time hopefully forgetting about everything. But he knew that wasn't a possibility until he got rid of the locket, but there was still time he kept telling himself.

"The code is the reason why the Jedi exist," Cindo reminded his friend. "Or at least that's what they tell us."

"They tell us to be good and do good. What's so hard to understand about that?"

Cindo had to admit Ahsoka had a point. No matter how deep a person's understanding of the code was it really boiled down to just that, only missing the don't let your emotions guide your actions part.

"Nothing really. However I find that thinking about the simplest of things deeply and trying to form your own understanding of why they're perceived the way they are broadens one's horizon," Cindo explained.

Ahsoka laughed in response. "You talk like a politician."

"It's hard not to pick something up from the dozens of speeches we had to listen to in politics class."

"True," Ahsoka agreed, shrugging.

In his short life on Dantooine he didn't receive any proper education. Schools were few and far between and were quite costly so the parents of children that lived in the villages decided to educate their offspring themselves, so there was a varying amount of intelligence in each village. Cindo had learned mathematics and the rules of Galactic basic alongside some things about the wildlife on Dantooine and of course, farming. However in the Temple they had many more subjects and they were taught in way more detail, even to the point where you would think that what they were teaching was completely useless.

One of these subjects in particular stuck with Cindo as interesting and quickly became his favorite class – history. He just found something immensely satisfying about the past, whether it was how planets and species were discovered, how hyperspace travel began, how the Jedi and the long ruined Sith order battled for control of the galaxy multiple times. These were the events he found immense interest in learning about them.

"Do you want to do something fun or…" Ahsoka began before being rudely interrupted.

"Hey Cindo, I got the books you wanted," Raz'yel, a Pantoran from their clan said. "Oh hey, Ahsoka," he added after noticing her.

Although Togruta genes had been a part of Cindo's family for generations he had never seen a Togruta until he met Ahsoka. He found her odd, but he quickly got used to her, yet Raz'yel who was a Pantoran, a near-human race, still freaked him out. It was mostly due to the fact that he had completely black eyes, a feature that still made Cindo uncomfortable. Otherwise Raz'yel was a completely normal Pantoran, having the usual blue skin adored with white and yellow markings and short white hair with the slightest hint of purple you could easily overlook.

"I guess that answers my questions," Ahsoka said rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry," Cindo assured her as Raz'yel passed him the holobooks. "I'll just put these away and we can go do something."

* * *

"_How is he progressing?"_

"_He's doing fine. He's been doing well in all his classes and from what we can see his eagerness to learn knows no bounds."_

"_And he has also become quite the little historian."_

"_That is good to hear. Are you suppressing his Force signature as I ordered?"_

"_Yes Aloysius, we are doing everything we can, but this bloodline connection only allows us to do so much."_

"_It will have to be enough for now."_

* * *

_2 years later…_

It was a day like any other. Practice, practice, practice and of course classes were the schedule for today as they were for any other. As the members of the clan grew older they learned more and more sophisticated things in their classes. They went from solely training against training droids, learning how to even wield a lightsaber, to slowly going through each fighting technique with their instructors to nearly being at a point where they could begin sparring with each other. Nearly.

To be able to spar younglings had to go through a process which began with the thing they've been doing for years – deflecting bolts from training probes. And as an extra obstacle they would be blindfolded and left to rely on their atonement to the Force which should've at this point in their training be good enough to get them through the first challenge. Daily meditation requirements helped them improve their connection, so this challenge showed the instructors who had been meditating and who had been focusing on the things they shouldn't have.

The Clawmouse clan had been called up to the training rooms in the morning to undergo the first challenge. The ten-youngling strong clan had been the top performing one out of all five that were in the same age group. Seven of his clanmates who conducted the first challenge had finished it successfully and now it was Cindo's turn as Jedi Master Kit Fisto called his name.

Lira, the Rodian member of clan Clawmouse, passed him the practice saber and helmet that acted as a blindfold. Cindo put on the helmet and tightly gripped the practice lightsaber with both hands. He didn't want to admit it to himself but he was nervous.

"_Breathe," _a quiet female voice in his head suddenly said. "_Trust in the Force. Do as you were taught, let it guide you."_

He took a deep breath and relaxed his grip a bit. He didn't recognize the voice but he did as he was told. He opened up to the Force and as the probe buzzed high up into the air, he too lifted up his saber. With every blocked bolt he felt himself working alongside the Force. Every movement of his arms and legs was in perfect sync as he deflected the incoming projectiles with ease until the rain of bolts stopped.

Cindo had done this exact exercise dozens if not hundreds of times in these three years but he had never felt so light and powerful in his life. It felt as if the Force gave him complete vision and understanding of the entire room and every single thing in it. From his fellow clan members that cheered for him after he had finished the challenge to the probe slowly descending back to the ground, to master Fisto's satisfied smile, he could see and hear all of it with the helmet on. It was truly an odd sensation.

"_Impressive I have to say."_

"_He has potential we can't deny that."_

"_No, we can't."_

* * *

11\. 07. 2019 Update

\- Fixed grammar and sentences


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Jedi Training (30 BBY)

Ever since the completion of the first challenge Cindo had been thinking about what happened. The sudden feeling of perfect atonement to the Force he had experienced but mostly he had been thinking about the voice that guided him. A woman that he had never heard before with a slightly augmented voice. Even after hours and hours of pondering he didn't even come close to matching the voice to a face.

A freighter passing very low over the temple broke his train of thought and he remembered why he was on the roof in the first place. Cindo told his friends he was going off to meditate in one of the rooms of the Temple but in reality, he came to the roof to be alone. Sure, he probably wouldn't have been interrupted in one of the many small white-walled meditation rooms, but he didn't like taking risks as if he was found doing what he was doing he could've been expelled from the order.

Cindo pulled the locket his parents gave him from beneath his tunic. The locket which had been undiscovered for three years ate at his soul. He didn't come up here every couple of days to reminisce, he came here to keep the promise he made to himself – to let go. Yet every single time he couldn't bring himself to throwing it away. So, every single time he would leave the roof with the locket still on him and it looked like this day wouldn't be any different than the rest. Another ship passing over the Temple blew his dark brown hair over his eyes.

"Long hair doesn't fit you at all," Lira said from behind.

Cindo nervously hid the locket back in his tunic and turned around. "I know," he agreed brushing his hair to the left. "What are you doing up here?"

"We were all searching for you. It's practice time remember?"

It was nearly the time for their second and third challenge which were conducted at the same time. The second challenge was demonstrating that the younglings had developed enough to where they mastered one of the standard fighting techniques or a technique they made that suited them the best. They would have to use that technique in a sparring match against a clanmate – which was the third challenge. Cindo, Raz'yel, Ahsoka and Lira had agreed to practice together so they could more easily see their mistakes.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot. Let's go then."

Through the years the younglings were taught all the Jedi lightsaber forms from I to VI. There was also a seventh one called Vapaad, but due to it being very hard to learn alongside it leading many of its practitioners to the dark side it was never taught, and younglings were told to stay away from it. Cindo had gone through every form, reading about them and practicing with them but he didn't feel comfortable with a single one.

He and Lira arrived at the training room. The youngling training rooms were smaller and had matts on the ground which helped with preventing injuries. Ahsoka and Raz'yel were already there at the time of their arrival swinging their practice lightsabers. They weren't allowed to spar with each other yet so the air would have to do.

Cindo grabbed a lightsaber from the rack on the wall directly to the left of the door and moved away from the other three as to not distract them.

Form I or Shii-Cho as it was called was the first ever proper lightsaber technique. Its goal was to target specific zones on the target's body and wasn't specialized for any type of opponent. If mastered the user's movements would be sporadic and unpredictable but getting to that point took time.

Form II known as Makashi was derived from Form I but it focused heavily on one-on-one lightsaber dueling with its precise and minimal movements. The goal of the form was to outmaneuver the opponent with fancy footwork and quick jabs, but the form became impossible to use effectively against bigger groups of enemies unless it had been mastered to perfection by the user.

Form III was the most popular form. Soresu as it was otherwise called was a form that focused heavily on defense and waiting for the opponent to make a mistake. The form was seen as the ultimate expression of non-aggressive Jedi philosophy, yet the almost excessive defensive style was the main reason for its user's defeat.

Form IV or Ataru was the exact opposite of Soresu. It was and extremely aggressive form where the user would close up the gap to their opponents as fast as possible and mostly evade the attacks rather than block them, allowing for quick retaliation strikes.

Form V, better known as Djem So was similar to Ataru only that instead of speed it relied on strength. Rather than waiting for an opportunity Djem So users would create it themselves with powerful strikes that weakened the opponent's defensive capabilities.

And last but not least Form VI or Niman was a form created almost exclusively for double-bladed lightsaber users. The form was practically out of use completely as double-bladed lightsabers had almost all but vanished yet the few users there were kept it alive.

And that was what Cindo had to work with. Six styles of fighting. He slowly went through all the forms except for Niman, slowly going through all the motions and thinking about what suited him the best. He was disappointed to learn that with every single form he felt like something was missing. Even when he thought of a combination of forms and tried them out, something was still amiss, so he decided on adding another lightsaber.

"Hey, Ahsoka," he said. "Can you lend me your practice saber for a bit?" he asked her as she appeared to be taking a break.

"Sure," she happily obliged.

At first Cindo held both sabers normally. Going through the motions, he concluded that it just felt too off, so he attempted holding both in a reverse grip. That didn't go much better as he found himself lost most of the time, so he went to the last option that at the time of thinking about it seemed stupid. He kept the saber in his dominant right hand in a normal grip while having the other saber in a reverse grip. He also shortened the reverse gripped saber's length. And all the pieces slowly began fitting together.

In the beginning Cindo attempted to spread the amount of attacks evenly which ended feeling just as clumsy as his other two attempts. He adjusted by using his reverse grip saber less, only using it for quick slashes and faints every couple of swings, and that was what he ended up with. He still felt that he was way off from using the form he just made up properly but if he put enough time in, the uniqueness of the form would surely provide him with some sort of advantage.

"… So all in all the Jedi Knight role has remained similar if not identical through the entire history of our order, but the same can not be said for the Jedi Service Corps. Dating back around three thousand years ago the group was called Jedi Consulars and they had a very similar job, only that they were placed in specific roles instead of corps where they are assigned temporary roles in the specific corps. There were Jedi healers, ambassadors, diplomats, lore keepers, researchers, seers and many, many more."

"They were some of the brightest and most talented minds of the order. There was even a role called an artifact hunter whose members solely focused on roaming the galaxy in search for ancient artifacts lost to time and war. One of these artifact hunters was even named Barsen'thor, a role only bestowed twice before her."

The instructor activated a hologram depicting a human woman with long brown hair reaching past her soldiers, bearing Old Republic era Jedi armor.

"_That's odd…"_

"_What?"_

"_I don't ever remember wearing anything like that. And my face isn't all screwed up."_

"_To be fair it's only half of your… Sorry."_

"_It's fine. The day that happened to me is the day my eyes finally opened up to the truth. If that hadn't happened who knew if we would've ever met."_

"This is the only depiction of her we have, even her name has been lost. Her connection to the Force was beyond anything the order has ever seen. The title of Barsen'thor is only given to the most exceptional Jedi. Our records state that she gained the rank by showing great self-sacrifice – giving away her power to heal and save the lives of many people when she was a mere Padawan."

Cindo read about Barsen'thor in a book detailing the greatest Old Republic Jedi. Her section was different to many others as the information the later he got in her life got more and more scarce until suddenly there was nothing and a new Jedi appeared on the next page. Most of the Jedi's lives were well documented – going as far as the time and place of their deaths but hers cut off more than abruptly.

"_I remember you telling me about that."_

"_I hope you also remember me telling you how much it hurt and that the pain was endless until I could finally stop shielding them."_

"_You sound like you didn't enjoy being the hero."_

"_Sometimes there were moments where I started questioning if any of it was worth it."_

"_That doesn't sound like something a Jedi would say."_

"_Former Jedi. And I don't know if I even was a proper Jedi when I was in the Order. Maybe under my first Master, Hiram, but when Coruscant fell everything changed. There were these demons haunting me that I couldn't get out of my head."_

"_I remember you telling me about Hiram. Sounds like he was a great Master."_

"_He sure was one of a kind."_

Being given permission to spar wasn't only a good way of becoming better in combat it was also a necessary test to pass if one wished to even begin the initiate trials. The Gathering where younglings would get their lightsaber crystals and create their lightsabers did not only have that limitation it also required the youngest member of the clan to be nine years of age as the whole clan would attend the sacred event together. So, to not drag their clan down they had all been working hard for the past few months, choosing and perfecting their technique as much as they could.

"A few quick rules before you may begin," Cin Drallig, the Order's battlemaster started. The sparring challenge required that at least one master and two other Jedi ranked Padawan or above observed the event. To Cindo's satisfaction one of the two other observers was Obi-Wan, the man who had helped save him from the bounty hunters. His master Qui-Gon had lost his life a few years prior on Naboo.

"This challenge will be held in a best-of-three format. There will be no direct hits. If a direct hit is unavoidable so be it but if it's not you will automatically lose a round. Don't forget to use your training and use it well. May the Force be with you."

He stepped back in line with Kenobi and what Cindo could only think of as Kenobi's or Drallig's Padawan.

"The first to spar will be Raz'yel and Cindo," Kenobi announced.

The members of Clawmouse clan anxiously stepped away from the crowd and took up their positions with their sabers in hand. From their training together, Cindo was not only able to get his friend's thoughts, he was also able to observe them and their fighting styles.

"Get ready," Obi-Wan said and the two younglings settled into their battle stances. Cindo turned slightly to the right and kept his sabers close to his body.

"Begin."

They immediately dashed at each other. Raz'yel attacked first which proved to be fatal, as Cindo used his right hand to not only block but push his friend's lightsaber further away, leaving enough room for him to comfortably place his off-hand saber right next to his head, granting him a lightning fast round win which was met by cheers from the crowd of younglings.

The combatants returned to their positions and waited. After Kenobi gave them the go-ahead they lunged at each other again. Raz'yel adjusted by keeping a fair distance between himself and Cindo. Cindo began growing impatient as his opponent kept going from the left to the right, dodging and blocking his attacks. At one point he became infuriated by the constant blocking, so he threw himself at Raz'yel with everything he had. Cindo lost his balance for just a moment after a flurry of strikes which allowed Raz'yel to spin off to the right and put his saber right next to his chest which granted him the win.

"_Remember, show restraint,"_ the same augmented voice from the bolt deflection challenge said.

The two went back to their starting positions for one last time and when Obi-Wan signaled for them to begin only Raz'yel charged this time. Cindo patiently awaited the fast strikes Raz'yel would throw at him. He blocked each and every swing directed at him while going for quick retaliation strikes and faints in hope of forcing his opponent into a mistake. And a mistake he made, as to Raz'yel's surprise Cindo quickly switched his off-hand saber into a normal grip and thrusted the weapon towards him, forcing Raz'yel to awkwardly twist his whole body to block the stab, leaving him completely exposed and granting Cindo the win.

They turned off their lightsabers and bowed to each other before putting the practice sabers back into the rack and returning to the group. The verdict was be given after all the younglings had sparred. Every member of clawmouse clan successfully completed the challenges not only granting them the ability to spar whenever but also giving the whole clan the right to attend the Gathering when they were old enough to do so.

"Cindo is it?" Cin Drallig asked. He had asked him to stay after class.

"Yes, Master," Cindo replied.

"Your technique – it is as interesting and unique as it is unrefined. What do you say if I help you with it?"

"It would be a great honor," Cindo said bowing his head. The thought of the Jedi Battlemaster himself training him personally excited him.

"_He's growing up so fast."_

"_Don't start crying on me now."_

"_You know very well that I'm devoid of the ability to show any emotion."_

"_You tell yourself that, but I could clearly see you smile only moments ago."_

"_I don't know what you're talking about."_

_A few days later…_

After another hard day of classes clawmouse clan could finally rest. All of his clanmates were already deep in their sleep but Cindo just couldn't fall asleep. Whenever he tried to so weird noises would start playing in his head. Doors constantly opening and closing, footsteps and the weirdest of all, his father's favorite song would play faintly in the background for a couple of moments before disappearing.

Forcing himself to sleep wasn't working so he decided to meditate instead. He got up into a sitting position on his bed and crossed his legs. Putting his hands on his knees he closed his eyes and emptied his mind.

* * *

_Just a small notice I have to put here._

_I'm currently in my last year of school so that means finals and that means that I won't have a lot of time. I had the goal of putting up 1 chapter per week which I have successfully done for 3 weeks, but now it will basically be impossible unless I plan on failing school. So, unless I do everything I have to do way ahead of time, updates in the coming couple of weeks will be slower. Expect maybe one per 2/3 weeks until about the end of June, but from then on I'm free and I'll hopefully still have the motivation to get out one per week._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Memories (29 BBY)_._

Since they met all those years ago Cindo, Ahsoka and Raz'yel had become a tight knit group of friends. The inseparable trio did pretty much almost everything together except for a few certain things like reading which Ahsoka wasn't a big fan of. Cindo entrusted them with everything and told them everything about him except one thing – the locket. Even though the two of them were the people he trusted the most in the galaxy he wanted to remain safe so he kept it a secret.

Cindo still found himself on the roof of the Jedi Temple with the locket in hand almost every day, wondering if it was finally the time to let go of the past. He was certain that the time he would be forced to throw it away was coming soon. He had been experiencing dreams for the past few months now with each dream being nearly identical – he was in his room back on Dantooine, every part of the room just like he had left it. The outsides of the windows were just a wall of darkness he could not see through and the door was always locked. From outside the room he could hear his parents going about their daily lives. Sometimes Cindo could smell his mother's cooking, sometimes he could hear the song his father loved but he dreaded, sometimes they would argue.

Every time Cindo would start knocking on the door and making as much noise as possible. The same thing would happen as a result of that – all the sounds just stopped. Instead the night before, the seemingly harmless dream turned into a nightmare. Instead of the sounds immediately stopping, he could hear steps coming closer and closer. He had moved away from the door and to his shock his mother entered the room, but she wasn't the same as he remembered. Multiple blaster marks were dotted around her body and her eyes were pure white. She had stood there for a couple of seconds looking around the room as if nobody was there before leaving.

The experience left Cindo confused and scared. He was doing his best to hide it but he knew Ahsoka and Raz'yel would spot that something was off soon enough.

"I can't wait to kick your butts!" Ahsoka exclaimed excitedly in her usual confident self.

"If you get far enough," Raz'yel challenged.

"That applies more to you than me."

"It does not."

"Yes, it does!"

They continued to bicker about who was better all the way to the actual Jedi training area. Usually Cindo would join, especially against Ahsoka as her being annoyed always made him laugh, but today was a different day and to his disdain his two friends caught on to him.

"Is something wrong?" The question was sudden and unexpected, cutting off their arguing in an instant and turning the spotlight on him.

"No," Cindo answered dismissively. "I'm fine."

Ahsoka then got in front of him and stopped him. "Then why are your hands shaking?" she said with crossed arms and a raised brow.

"I just had a nightmare. It's nothing big," he responded with a fake smile.

"What was it about?" Ahsoka inquired further.

Cindo gulped. He had hoped his answer would've been sufficient. He wasn't prepared to for that question. "I can't remember. You know just the usual scary stuff."

"Uh-huh," Raz'yel responded.

"Really. I can't remember. Let's just leave it at that."

"Sure." Raz'yel and Ahsoka looked at each other and shrugged.

"Where are we going again?" Cindo asked. Ahsoka and Raz'yel probably told him what it was but he couldn't remember at all.

"We're signing up for the apprentice tournament," Raz'yel answered.

"Which I'm going to win of course," Ahsoka just had to add, sending the two of them into another argument. Seeing it as a way to escape his thoughts Cindo joined in on the bickering.

"_A tournament you say? Who knew Jedi could actually have fun."_

"_It's an ancient dueling tournament. Never took part in one myself but they were fun to watch."_

The Jedi Temple Apprentice Tournament was a sacred tradition to the Jedi. It was held once a year during times of peace. It was an event where younglings could show off their skills, unwind and have fun. But it held more importance to the higher-ranking members of the order as they could from the tournament see which of the younglings could make for good apprentices.

The three friends entered the sparring area lobby. On the wall next to the door to one of the ten sparring rooms was a board. The three entered their names and the clans they belonged to and that was their sign up completed. Now all they had to do was wait and train for three days before the tournament began.

After they had completed their signup Ahsoka and Raz'yel immediately headed for the youngling sparring area to practice. They invited Cindo along, but he politely declined, using his bad mood as an excuse. Luckily for him the two let him go without trying to convince him. He returned to the empty youngling quarters and immediately started towards the cabinet where his drawer was. He pulled it open and took out the two extra sets of clothing he had been given by the caretakers, putting them on the floor next to him. The bottom of his wooden drawer was made out of two layers of wood, a bottom one which was thick and the one that was on top of it which was very thin. The two layers were supposed to be glued together but the glue holding the two parts together failed and so the top layer could be removed. He did just that, squeezing his fingers into the tiny gaps and removing the wooden plank. Beneath it was the necklace with the locket.

He picked up the necklace and gripped it tightly in his right hand. "_Now I just need a place where I won't be interrupted."_

The room of a thousand fountains was the oldest surviving room in the Jedi temple, having not been fully destroyed or even mostly destroyed for thousands of years. One of if not the only place where nature still thrived on Coruscant, the giant greenhouse played host to a whole ecosystem of plants and animals. Small streams ran of water ran through the room with stone walkways following them all the way. It was a place where the Jedi went when they sought peace and enlightenment. Cindo sought the former but he still felt bad about bringing something so dark to such a peaceful place. He strayed off the path, as far as he dared to go because the room was easy to get lost in, and prepared himself for meditation.

The longer Cindo stared at the locket on the ground in front of him the more uneasy he became. It should've been easy to throw it away and forget about it but something was pulling him towards it, something was preventing him from throwing it away.

He down on his knees and gripped the necklace tightly in his right hand. The calming sounds of flowing water and distant bird chirping eased his worry as he slipped into deep meditation, his focus centered at the necklace.

"_Can you sense that?"_

"_I can."_

"_Then you know that our time to intervene will come soon."_

"_I'm afraid you're right."_

* * *

_Cindo felt the ground beneath him. Dirt just like the one in the room he was just in the only difference being it was pitch black and completely quiet. It was so dark that he couldn't even see his hands even when he brought them directly in front of his eyes. The eerily silent air was replaced with a loud scream shortly after, a scream that brought back memories Cindo desperately tried to push aside._

_Suddenly a strong white light lit up his back, taking his attention. He turned on his heels only to see a half circle of just pure white light close by. The light lit up the area, revealing dead trees positioned identically to the ones in the room where he was meditating and a dry trench that ran exactly where the slow stream used to run. Seeing nothing of interest Cindo carefully approached the light. Before he could even react two dark tentacles shot out of the white light wrapping around his arms tightly. As they pulled him in he attempted to resist but to no avail. The intensity of the light only became stronger and stronger, forcing him to close his eyes. _

_And then all of the sudden the tentacles that had been wrapped around his arms so tightly that they went numb and the blinding white light disappeared and were instead replaced with the sound of the night wind gracefully brushing a large patch of tall grass – a sound he was all too familiar with but hadn't heard in a long time._

_Cindo opened his eyes, his arms still stretched out in front of him. He subconsciously dropped them back into their resting positions while he began taking in the view. Not far away was a lonely nearly perfect Y-shaped tree. To his disdain Cindo knew exactly where he was. He ran to the tree and climbed on top of it as he did so many times before, but this time it was even easier with his added size and strength. As he got higher and higher the picture of his old village began taking shape. He immediately dropped down and sprinted towards it._

_He ran straight through the village to his house when he froze. The speeder the bounty hunters who took him drove was there, parked in exactly the same place as the night when… Cindo stopped for a moment. He took a look around that area of his house since that was where the windows in his room were and noticed that the speeder wasn't the only thing in the same place, everything else was as well. He dashed for the corner of the house and when he peeked out his heart stopped. The same men dressed who took him stood there in front of the door._

_It was at this point he had had enough, but he didn't know how to pull himself out of whatever he was in. He attempted to close his eyes, covering his ears, even hitting himself but nothing worked. It was when another strong white light, this time much smaller in size grabbed his attention. A very small particle, the size of a bread crumb, floated in the air at a nearby house. It had to be some sort of sign so Cindo decided to follow it in hopes of it maybe dragging him some place else. But what he discovered was far worse than anything he could've hoped for. As he turned around the corner he spotted a young Kenobi and a still alive Qui-Gon hiding behind the building, poking their heads out and observing the bounty hunters as they molested his parents._

_Cindo couldn't believe his eyes. Where they there the whole time as his parents fought for him? Did they just let them die instead of doing something?_

_Impossible. He forced the thoughts out of his head. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan would've done something if they were there. The vision had to be fake it just had to. There would be no reason for a simple necklace to be able to show him this – it was all another nightmare._

* * *

A sudden flash of light brought him back to the place where he began his meditation. He started meditating just hoping that having the necklace close would show him something, but he never expected this. It all felt so real. In the end the experience left him with more questions than answers.

Now looking down at the necklace in his hand, he noticed that the pull he sensed emanating from it had disappeared. Cindo attempted to replicate the ritual in the next two days but he never again managed to get pulled into the same vision or any vision at all.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Tournament (29 BBY)

On the morning of the apprentice tournament Cindo found himself once again on the roof of the Jedi Temple. Everything was the same as usual – the large cityscape covered the view as far as the eye could see with constant streams of planetary and interplanetary traffic filling the air.

But one crucial thing was different. Cindo found himself once again looking down at his necklace which he was pinching together by the thin chain as usual. Every day he attempted to throw it away he couldn't. It was as if an invisible force took control of his body and mind, preventing him from dropping it and planting seeds of doubt in his mind, yet this time there was nothing. No attachment, no anything. The necklace felt as it held no importance and it was exactly that, that prevented Cindo from letting go this time. The utter nonsense of the situation made him think about the vision he had experienced a few days prior, the vision he attempted to replicate multiple times to no avail.

It was exactly after that vision that he seemed to lose all the attachment towards the necklace. What if the necklace simply acted as a catalyst to show him the events that happened on that tragic night, but what he had seen couldn't be true. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan wouldn't just stand there and do nothing. They were Jedi, it was their duty to protect the innocent however what if that was the whole reason why he was seemingly so attached to the necklace. He forced those thoughts away fast as he sensed somebody approaching him.

"_So young yet so torn."_

"_Wouldn't you feel the same if the people that had been taking care of you for years let your parents die?"_

"_You know that what I saw was much worse."_

"_I know… I can't believe you remained sane after that."_

"I've been searching all over the Temple for you," Ahsoka exclaimed, bent over with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. "The tournament's about to start. What are you even doing here?"

Cindo hadn't turned around and instead kept gazing into the distance. "I came here to calm myself." And with one final look he let go of the necklace as inconspicuously as possible before turning around. "My strategy worked better than expected."

"How so?" Ahsoka asked, still struggling for air albeit with less difficulty than before."

"I tired the competitor I feared the most," Cindo said with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, don't worry. We're on the opposite side of the bracket."

Compared to two days ago the room in which the signup boards were was nearly unrecognizable, not only due to the enormous crowd but also due to the various colorful decorations. Jedi of every rank and function were there from what Cindo could tell, reinforcing the fact that this was a very sacred event for the Jedi.

The boards that were used for signing up now displayed the tournament bracket. After Ahsoka dragged Cindo through the crowd he was able to confirm that what Ahsoka was telling him was true, they were on opposite sides of the bracket. Alongside the duelists the times and room numbers of the duels were displayed as well. Due to the overwhelming number of contestants – 103 younglings and there only being six sparring rooms, each round was divided into multiple rotations. Cindo was part of the second rotation that was set to start in 5 minutes.

"I should get ready," he told Ahsoka who nodded. He began making his way through the crowd once again, this time Ahsoka being the one to follow.

Cindo finally managed to get through the crowd to the room where he was supposed to fight. Luckily the duel that had been happening before his just ended so he didn't have to wait to get warmed up. The moment he gripped the two green practice lightsabers and looked around was the moment he remembered the sparring test. All the excitement was there alongside the crowd which was a lot bigger this time and didn't only feature younglings but Padawans, Knights and Masters as well.

The rules were the same the only difference being that there was only one round after which the loser of the duel would get sent down to the lower bracket.

Cindo readied himself for his first opponent, a dark-skinned human boy. He was shorter than Cindo but what he could tell from seeing him warm up was that he wasn't fast but he was precise and calculative with his strikes.

Getting the go ahead to begin they both slowly begun approaching each other. Cindo had trained his technique with Master Drallig, improving it immensely. Cin himself had never seen any similar form like that so it had been a learning experience for him as well. Before they had begun practicing they had spent multiple hours together theorizing how the form worked and what it was best against and also what its weaknesses were. They had put together all the moves Cindo had used and adjusted each and every single one to make it as effective as possible in as many different situations as they could think of as well as adding new moves and aspects to the form to alleviate any weaknesses that might come to light. Of course, no form is perfect and they had quickly figured out that Cindo's form suffered against multiple targets wielding blasters as the way he held the sabers made it hard to deflect a large amount of blaster bolts. A simple switch of the backward grip to a normal one helped but that left him exposed to any combatants in melee range as Cindo primarily used the reverse grip for quick blocks and parries. Those proved to be incredibly useful in duels as he was able to deflect strong or and fast attacks with small movements and minimal loss of energy.

The boy swung first, going for Cindo's midsection. Cindo quickly parried the attack with his left saber, leaving the boy's left side completely exposed. Playing it safe, the boy immediately jumped back evading the attack. Cindo quickly figured out that the boy was probing him. He kept coming in for safe strikes which would get blocked easily time and time again. Instead of letting the boy figure out his defensive strategy Cindo went on the offense. He too chose to probe the boy's defense which proved to be nothing out of the ordinary. At this point they had been at it for a couple of minutes, exchanging safe blows. Then an idea struck Cindo. He let the boy strike once again. When the saber came at him he blocked it just like he did the first time and the boy reacted identically. He let the boy strike a couple more times which only confirmed that his thoughts were true. As the same strike came in once again Cindo blocked it but instead of pushing the boy's saber back he instead just let it rest on his left saber. No with no backwards momentum, the boy still attempted to jump back but with no backwards momentum he couldn't jump far enough and ended up being grazed by Cindo's right saber, ending the duel. They respectfully bowed to each other and returned the practice lightsabers.

"That was boring," Ahsoka commented disappointedly.

"I won, didn't I?"

"Well yes but it was so slow and boring."

"Master Drallig told me to always study my opponent before going for a move," Cindo countered.

"Okay know it all, let me show you how you really fight."

Ahsoka's style was unsurprisingly aggressive and careless in some respects. She kept on attacking her opponent hoping he would relent. It had to have been a solid 30 seconds before her opponent could even get a swing in and even then it was swiftly blocked and they were back to square one. Ahsoka wasn't very physically strong but she made up for her weakness with pure speed and agility. Most of the time instead of blocking she would just duck, jump or evade the strikes with moving around instead of blocking and since she seemed to have a never ending supply of stamina and energy that wasn't a detriment to her at all as she would keep moving around for what seemed like an eternity before getting even a bit tired.

She beat her first opponent in just under two minutes. Cindo was pretty sure that he could've counted the amount of swings of her opponent on one hand. It was that one sided.

"And that's how you duel," Ahsoka said proudly after returning to Cindo's side.

"It is a simple-minded way of dueling but quite effective as it looks like," Cindo commented.

"I hoped you learned how to not be boring."

"Hey guys!" Raz'yel greeted them.

"Oh, hey little guy," Ahsoka said with a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Don't call me little!" he warned her, pointing his finger at her.

"You're shorter than all of us so…"

"Don't!"

"Can you two just not do this once," Cindo begged them.

"But it's fun," Ahsoka argued.

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

"Stop!" Cindo said before they could get into a perpetual loop that would go on for at least a couple of minutes before one of them would give up.

"Let's bring it down a bit. Raz'yel how did your duel go?" Cindo asked.

"It was surprisingly easy," Raz'yel answered. "So, when's your next one?"

The three spent the rest of the day and the entirety f the next day in the sparring area, watching the duels, talking to other Jedi and supporting each other as they made their way through the bracket. Ahso had fallen to the lower bracket on the second day as her opponent managed to find a way to counter her relentless offensive capabilities.

It was now the last rotation of upper bracket duels of the day, the winners would go straight to the quarter finals while the losers would go down to the lower bracket to fight another duel to determine if they would get into the quarter finals.

For his last opponent Cindo was met with a youngling that was on the brink of starting his Padawan trials. It scared him a bit not only knowing that his opponent was three years older and had more experience but also that he had already completed the Gathering. Cindo would have to wait two more years to attend the Gathering as Ahsoka, the youngest member of the clan, was only 7 years old.

He readied himself for the hopefully last duel of the day. For Cindo this wasn't only about the quarter finals, it was about getting to duel on Tython, a forest planet where one of the oldest known Jedi temples once stood. Visiting it was what everybody who attended the tournament got to do but to duel on the sacred grounds of the ancient temple was an honor.

The duel began and Cindo was immediately put on the backfoot. His opponent surprised him with a lightning fast attacked, followed by many others which Cindo managed to barely block. Luckily for him his opponent was only using one lightsaber, so after a few blocks he managed to get a good parry off, knocking his opponent's blade far to the side. Before he could attack though he was pushed backwards. He had been so focused on dueling he forgot on his one tool that differentiated him from most of the living beings in the galaxy, the ability to use the Force. His opponent recovered and began to throw in powerful strikes once again.

Cindo again waited for an opportunity and after managing to parry him the same ways as last time he was met with an admittedly weak wave of Force energy which he managed to block. His opponent, completely caught off-guard by the move managed to barely evade Cindo's swing by rolling off to the left. As soon as he got up he was met by Cindo's lightsabers and after a few quick jabs and faints, Cindo was finally able to make contact with his opponent's arm, ending the duel.

"_Impressive wouldn't you say?"_

"_Yes. He has a lot of potential."_

"_He does share our blood after all."_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Burried Secrets (29 BBY)

A week after the initial round of the tournament had ended the younglings that were still in the running alongside other younglings and Jedi were flown out to take part in the final round of the tournament. Their destination, Tython – an ancient planet where one of the first Jedi Temples were built.

History had always intrigued Cindo more than any other subject, so his excitement was unmatched. All the worries faded away as their shuttle exited the bright blue confines of hyperspace to reveal a similarly blue planet with large masses of land dotted around.

"It is exciting isn't it? The history, the memories of the ones long gone. This planet was host to many events – good and bad, light and dark and yet the light side of the Force still prevails over the dark as it has ever since the planet had been created," Jedi Master Plo Koon said. He stood behind the three friends who gazed at the planet in awe. Even from far away it was completely different to Coruscant.

The first wave of shuttles and transport ships, carrying vital resources and equipment to make camp landed at a large clearing in the old Padawan training grounds – the Gnarls. Ancient stone bridges and structures that stood there even before the Jedi settled the planet still existed and stood firmly, granting passage over the raging river delta. The ancient trees were host to many types of birds, each singing different calming songs that were carried all over the Gnarls by the wind that was blowing through the area. The delta led to a giant blue lake with a decrepit outpost at the edge facing the Gnarls.

The whole place felt magical to Cindo. While Ahsoka and Raz'yel had already ran off to do whatever it was that they intended to do, he just stood there and took in the sounds of the birds, the streams of water, the feeling of wind brushing his face, the large trees that casted a giant shadow, protecting him from the hot day. He began slowly following the path, admiring the beauty of nature. After crossing two bridges and following the winding dirt path for a short amount of time he froze. He felt as if all the light in the place was washed over by a flood of darkness. But the darkness wasn't trying to repel him, it was inviting him… The Force wanted to show him something. Cindo followed the traces of darkness as it kept growing stronger and more potent. The path ended up leading him through bushes and over a shallow river to a cave entrance.

The cave was completely dark and with no source of light Cindo made the decision to turn away. But just as he was about to start walking something stopped him. The pull he was feeling became stronger, but it wasn't the dark side trying to lure him, it was something else. So, against his better judgement, he entered the dark confines of the cave. He slowly traversed it step by step until suddenly something cracked beneath him. He stepped back and heard a weird noise, as if something was moving under the rocky ground. The previously unseen torches that hung on the walls lit up, revealing the dark red and brown stone the cave was made out of and a horror that shook Cindo to the bone. Skulls were littered across the ground – most of them bigger and a different shape than any human's or other humanoid race's skull. Alongside that there were what seemed to be leftovers of tents in the form of wood and animal skins.

Cindo wanted to run and forget everything that he had just seen but this thing he had been sensing kept pulling him towards it. Since he could see that the end of the cave wasn't far off he decided to find whatever it was that was pulling him towards it.

The end of the cave was elevated with a ramp leading to the top. On top there was a lot of debris signifying that the deeper parts of the cave had caved in. Cindo stopped in front of a pile of bones. Whatever it was he could sense that it was right there. He hesitated but eventually his intrigue overcame him and he slowly began removing the bones until he ran into something made of metal. A what appeared to be an old lightsaber hilt was revealed to him.

He went for the lightsaber. Upon getting close he stopped as he began hearing whispers. It seemed normal until screaming and yelling became audible. He closed his eyes and swallowed before finally gripping the hilt.

The hilt suddenly disappeared from his hands, prompting him to open his eyes. He was in the same cave looking at the same place where the pile of bones used to be. The sound of heavy feet thumping against the ground made him turn. Seeing a best he could only describe as hideous and scary he ran behind the tents on the raised platform of the cave. Seeing the tents built and the bones gone made him realize that he had been pulled into some sort of vision of the past.

The sound of battle broke his train of thought. He looked from around the edge of the tent, seeing many more of those giant beasts charging towards the entrance of the cave. After a few moments a ghostly silence filled the air and a few moments after that a young woman walked into view with a weird stick sort of weapon.

Hearing steps behind him Cindo swung his head around towards the sound. A dark-skinned human carrying a blue lightsaber walked out the part of the cave that was collapsed in present time. He walked past the tent Cindo was hiding behind and joined the beast at its side. The woman in the meanwhile had already walked up the ramp and was ready to fight. Cindo could sense her feelings, ones of pure anger and hatred.

"You're a Jedi? The leader of the army that has been killing Padawans is a Jedi? Why?" the woman demanded.

"Why? Let me tell you why. I used to be like you once – a young and inspired Jedi full of hope, but I saw our Order's weaknesses and that before long the Sith would destroy us. I sought reform… I sought change that would make the Order powerful again, but no one listened. I will not see my order fall so I recruited the fleshraiders to my side. If the Jedi will not listen to reason I will make them."

"You're going about it the wrong way," the woman protested. "The council will…"

"What will the council do? Nothing. Exactly what they did to prevent what happened to Coruscant. They trusted the Sith when they never should've."

"I too have lost a lot," she said with a face of discomfort.

"So, you know how it feels. This does not have to end in more bloodshed. You could join me and we could bring in a new era of the Jedi. Jedi that are not afraid to fight, Jedi that do not stand by idly while the galaxy is in turmoil."

"There doesn't have to be any more Jedi blood spilled," the woman argued.

"No. Violence is the only language the Jedi take seriously… Enough talk. I gave you the chance to join me but now I will have to kill you."

"You are weak and lost, therefore I have already won," the woman said before Cindo's vision began fading. It became harder to breathe and eventually he fell to the ground due to the lack of air.

He awakened once again in the same cave with the surroundings being different again. This time the part of the cave had already collapsed and it was completely empty with only the torches being lit.

Three what Cindo could only assume were Jedi younglings due to the tunics came running up to the elevated part of the cave. He could sense their fear but there was something else lurking in the shadows, a tiny light buried beneath a heap of hate, anger, despair… Something had been following those younglings. After them a blue Twi'lek wearing Jedi battle armor appropriate for the era – normal Jedi robes with armor beneath them, came running.

"Quickly. Hide," she ordered, the younglings immediately executing her order.

Just as the kids hid from view the person who had been chasing them walked into view. A Togruta who's skin was so pale it was almost identical to her snow white marks. Her bright red eyes in contrast to her almost exclusively black hard leather armor adored with a kama that almost touched the ground and two large spikes, each coming from one shoulder, shone through the dimly lit cave in a display of rage.

"Stop right there or I will kill you!" the Jedi warned the Togruta, pointing her blue lightsaber at her.

"Is that how you greet all your old friends?" the Togruta answered in a sarcastic, emotionless and admittedly bored tone.

"I don't know you Sith," she said.

"That is odd considering that if it wasn't for me your head would still be on display on that mine on Nal Hutta."

"It can't be you," the Twi'lek said in shock. "You couldn't have survived."

"I did and I am surprised to find out that the rebellious little Bri turned out to be Force sensitive. And that isn't the best part. She's a become a Jedi of all things. The same Bri who talked of murder to save her own skin now stands here as a protector of the weak."

"What happened to you? What happened to that sweet innocent girl I used to call my friend? She would never join the Sith."

"I was as opposed to you was left with no choice," the Togruta said adopting a more aggressive tone and stance. "I was left in the mines to starve and die until I was rescued by the Empire. The same Empire that gave me the feeling of belonging somewhere unlike the Republic that just let our system be overrun and leaving the people there to die."

"The Republic would never do such a thing," Bri argued.

"Oh, but they did and my mother, the only cared about in the Galaxy was killed because of it."

"But was it not the Empire that did the deed?"

"I am not saying the Empire is perfect, far from it. I am working on enacting change – I'm working for peace," the Togruta explained.

"Is that why you attacked Tython? In search of peace?"

"I had no choice," the Togruta said, staring at the ground. "My ideas would be deemed treacherous and I would be executed. That is why I am searching for allies inside and outside the Empire."

"I won't fall for your tricks. You are Darth Nox not the girl I once knew," Bri said as she began pacing back and forth. "The dark side has consumed you and I shall free you."

"I do not mean you harm."

"Lies!"

And with that Bri lunged herself at Nox. The surprise attack had no effect as Nox ignited her light blue colored double-bladed lightsaber to Cindo's complete surprise, and easily parried her attack. Nox successfully retaliated by using those few moments where Bri was defenseless by twirling and grazing Bri's right shoulder. The Twi'lek retreated and put her left hand on her damaged shoulder.

Then to Cindo's bewilderment the Togruta turned off her lightsaber and clipped it back to her belt.

"What are you doing?" Bri asked.

"As I said, I do not mean you harm," Darth Nox reminded her. "Stay here for the remainder of the invasion, you should be safe here."

"I don't understand…"

"You will in time," Nox said before turning away and making for the exit.

The cave violently shook accompanied by the sound of an explosion. Cindo followed Darth Nox towards the exit. He really wanted to see the invasion. But instead of seeing old Imperial bombers and fighters fly over the Sith and Jedi that were battling in the grounds, at least that was what he was expecting to see, he was met by intense daylight and silence and of course…

"Cindo!"

Ahsoka…

"Where have you been?" she asked in distress. Raz'yel as always was close behind her.

"I just went for a short walk," he answered putting on a fake smile which always seemed to help his case.

"You've been gone for two hours…" Raz'yel said.

"I was? Time really does fly by when you're surrounded by such beautiful nature," he said letting out a short nervous laugh after. Before giving them the chance to respond he already started for the camp. "Anyway, how's the camp coming along?"

"It's almost finished," Raz'yel informed him.

"_Visions of the past…"_

"_Telemetry is a rare gift but being able to see that far back is unfathomable. I don't think Aloysius told us everything about this bloodline connection. It would be the only logical way to explain Cindo seeing what transpired thousands of years ago so clearly."_

The campsite as it turned out had been finished and the three were immediately assigned their tent upon their arrival. Lines and lines of open and closed tents went along the old stone and dirt path. The Jedi that had free time and were there to spectate the tournament used the rare opportunity of being on such an ancient planet to meditate, clear their heads and enjoy nature that had been mostly untouched for hundreds of years if not more.

"Now that's disappointing," Ahsoka said immediately after entering the tent. The two boys went in behind her to find just three simple sleeping bags on the floor.

"I don't know what you were expecting."

"Well maybe something more I don't know… normal."

"You've been sharing a room with nine others and only had one drawer for years now. You'll survive," Raz'yel said jokingly. "Besides, Togrutas still live in tents from what I remember reading about them."

Ahsoka looked to Cindo desperately for support. Winning in conversations started becoming more important to them than beating each other in test scores while Cindo had dropped out of that altogether. "I say we find something fun to do."

"I know what we can do," Ahsoka said, her face lighting up with joy. "I overheard Master Plo talking about some overhang that's close to the Jedi Temple but still within camp limits."

"And you accidentally found out where it is I'm guessing?" Raz'yel asked.

"I may or may not have followed Master Plo around until he eventually went to it yes, but look at the good side – I can show it to you now," she replied cheerfully.

"Let's go then."

It was sundown when they finally reached the overhang. The sun was setting behind the mountains directly in front of them, bathing them and the valley below in a nice warm orange light. And below them the ruins of a great temple and its surrounding buildings greeted them. It was a sight to behold. The statues of the mighty, Jedi that were considered as the greatest heroes of their era, or what was left of them were evenly spaced out on the stone promenade in front of the temple. The temple itself consisted of four cupolas, one big main one and three smaller outer ones which had caved in.

"_Back here after all this time…"_

"_The years certainly haven't been pretty to it."_

Cindo was breathless. It wasn't as grandiose as the enormous temple back on Coruscant and that was exactly why he immediately fell in love with those ruins. It felt simple and humble just as a proper Jedi Temple should.

"It's incredible…" Cindo said.

"Yeah," Raz'yel added.

"I knew you'd like it," Ahsoka said with a proud smile.

"It is indeed a sight to behold," another voice said. The three of them turned around nervously to see Master Plo looking at them. Cindo didn't know how to interpret the message as the Kel Dorian Jedi wore a mask that covered most of his face and his eyes, leaving not much room to see his feeling. And being a Jedi Master, Cindo did not even attempt to sense his feelings as the veteran Jedi would've known he was doing so. Instead he silently waited for the situation to evolve.

"Master Plo," Ahsoka greeted with a nervous smile. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Late? The sun is not even down yet little Soka. I think the more proper thing would be for me to ask you that question."

"Well we just happened to stumble on this view and we decided to stay awhile," Ahsoka said. Her sweet childish voice and big eyes and also the ability to act innocent would've made her win any situation with a being that wasn't Force sensitive but of course Plo Koon was no such being.

"Strange. I could've sworn I saw you following me around earlier," he said, striking a thoughtful pose. "I guess it couldn't have been you then." His tone did take a bit of a sarcastic angle, letting the three of them know that he was just playing around with them.

"No, it definitely couldn't have been me or those two," she confirmed with a nod, not deciding to stop the act.

"Well, I better go search for the culprit then. And be back at camp before it gets dark."

"Of course, Master Plo."

"Before I forget. I was to tell all younglings that there will be a trip into the temple ruins tomorrow if any of you are interested."

Cindo's eye lit up with excitement. That was one of his life goals off the list. Visiting an old Jedi Temple or any old Jedi site was one of his wishes ever since he had developed an interest in history. Getting to see the ancient structure up close was immensely exciting for him and he could hardly wait.

As Master Plo's form disappeared into the forest something strange began happening. Cindo started hearing the feintest of sounds. He listened closely to it and slowly began making out a melody. A peaceful, slow, soft and light memory that eased his mind even though it was barely audible.

"Cindo!" He looked around confusedly to see Raz'yel shaking him while Ahsoka stood next to him. He saw her lips moving but he could barely hear what she was saying. As the melody faded he finally started making out words.

"What's the matter with you?" Raz'yel asked him.

"Couldn't you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ahsoka asked, moving next to him and looking into the distance. "I can't hear anything."

"I guess it was just me then."

"This fresh air is starting to hurt your mind," she said jokingly.

"We should get back to camp. It's getting dark," Raz'yel recommended.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Echoes of The Past (29 BBY)

The next morning Cindo found himself in a large group of excited younglings. After a night that felt like eternity the moment had finally come for the trip to the old Jedi Temple to begin. Masters Plo Koon and Kit Fisto led the group of eager younglings through the ancient forest on a path that circled all the way around the training grounds, eventually leading back to the temple. After walking on the path for ten minutes they started slowly ascending, reaching the top of the hill. There the trees and foliage made way for a clear and beautiful view of the Temple, much like the one from the day before only much closer.

But the group didn't stop. They kept on walking, descending the hill and ending up on the edge of where the dirt path made way for the wide stone pathway towards the temple. Even from that distance the decrepit Temple didn't come close to matching the grandness of the giant temple on Coruscant.

"We have been able to make most of the main building safe to walk through but there are still some areas you should stay away from due to falling debris and other hazards," Master Fisto informed the younglings. "So, don't get separated from the group."

They continued walking onwards towards the big promenade in front of the temple. The eight beautifully made statues of the great Jedi were coming within reach and Cindo could barely contain himself from running ahead of the group just to be there first.

Kit then suddenly stopped, the group following suit. "And try not to touch anything we don't allow you to. This is a historical site after all."

First up before entering the temple they examined the large statues. Statues of very important Jedi of the era who had achieved things not many ever could. These were mostly Jedi Grandmasters and certain heroes whose moments and adventures were still talked about and taught to the Jedi to this day. But there was one statue, the one nearest to the entrance on the left that was odd. It appeared to have been hastily destroyed as hints of black marks could still be seen where a tool or probably a lightsaber cut through it. There was a bit of a dent in the ground where Cindo could only assume was the place where one of the parts of the statue fell after being cut.

He crouched and put his hand on the dent. There was an odd sensation, one he couldn't he explain that went from his hand and spread to his entire body before disappearing. It was as if stepping into ice cold water where the heat in the body would be gradually replaced by cold however this sensation spread through him and disappeared nearly instantly.

"If only they could see me now." Cindo had heard that same female augmented voice before, back when he was doing his sparring challenge but it was more echoey. The sound of footsteps followed. Cindo turned around on his heels only to be met by nothing. There were a couple of younglings around him, admiring the other statues. The loud steps continued until they came to a halt right where he now stood.

"Never thought we'd come here again," a different voice, this one more high-pitched also belonging to a woman said. "Let alone see it abandoned like this."

"It would seem that the Jedi don't only condemn forming connections to other people."

"We were always taught to let go of the past and yet look where that has gotten them now. I still don't understand why we're here."

"Destroy the statue."

"Why?"

"I do not want to be remembered as one of them."

The woman with the augmented voice began walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"I've had a vision. There is something I must deliver to the archives. When you're done wait here. I won't be long."

The last thing Cindo could hear before all the weird sounds were cut off was the sound of two lightsabers being ignited. The odd sensation shot through his body once again but this time it wasn't followed by anything, just the chattering the younglings, the chirping of birds and other animal noises far off in the distance.

"Master Plo," Cindo said just loud enough for the Jedi master to hear him but hopefully not loud enough for the other younglings to hear.

"Yes, Cindo?" the Jedi Master asked him.

"I just got a strange vision… I don't know if I should even call it that," Cindo began before continuing describing the experience he had just had.

Plo Koon's intrigue was obvious from his stance and facial expressions. "A vision where you can only hear but also transpires in real time. That is something I have never heard off before. You claim that whoever you heard is responsible for the statue's state?"

"Yes. The woman this statue was made after wanted it destroyed," Cindo said.

"I'm afraid this will have to wait until after we return to Coruscant. The council and the library would prove most useful to resolve such weird situations," Plo concluded. "When we return to camp make detailed notes about the event."

"Of course, Master," Cindo obliged.

The group then moved up the steps and inside the temple. The mostly wooden main hall was in great shape unlike the rest of the bigger parts of the temple. The room was decorated with many paintings and tapestries with a logo of the Jedi carved in the floor between two winding ramps that led to the top floor. The Jedi that were sent here after the rediscovery of the planet had done a good job of restoring as much of the temple as possible but sadly some parts of the main building had collapsed or were otherwise inaccessible.

"Where does this lead to?" Cindo asked Master Fisto, looking at one of the two side doors.

"This is where the lecture halls, meditation rooms, practice rooms, living quarters and surprisingly enough a small cantina," he answered.

"A cantina? In a Jedi temple?" Cindo asked confusedly.

"It is indeed a strange thing. But it helped the Jedi escape from the realities of war."

They then moved on to the second floor of the building, navigating the red-carpeted left ramp. The second floor was ring-shaped with multiple large openings leading to different areas. On the very top of the ramp the first room led to the Jedi council chamber. There was a holoprojector next to the giant double doors. "ACCESS PROHIBITED."

Moving further around the ring to the next room Cindo began hearing that strange melody again but this time he could hear it coming from the right, the opposite side of the ring.

Cindo walked up next to Raz'yel who was a few paces in front of him. "Do you hear that?"

"No. What is it?"

"The same thing I was hearing yesterday. You couldn't hear it then as well."

"Strange," Raz'yel said.

Cindo started falling behind the group as he became more and more embroiled in his thoughts. What was that sounds? Where was it coming from and why was he the only person that could hear it?

The group reached the library and entered it however Cindo didn't. He stood by the large open entrance his body turned to the opposite side of the top floor. That melody had to be coming from there. He looked back at the group a couple of times, the first couple to hopefully persuade himself to not do anything stupid, the last couple to make sure nobody saw him leave. He slowly made his way to the opposite side, staying low behind the raised edges of the ring until he finally came upon the opening of the same shape.

The room had the same holoprojector message as the council chamber however this room wasn't hidden behind a large door so Cindo could clearly see why they advised against entering it. Large chunks of what Cindo could only assume was the ceiling were dispersed on the ground with a stream of light shining into the center of the dark room from the opening in the ceiling.

Against his better judgement he decided to enter the room. As soon as he was fully into the open space he felt that same wave of coldness spread through his body and it wasn't long before he once again started hearing footsteps. He did his best to follow them among the maze of shelfs as high if not higher than the ones in the temple on Coruscant.

The footsteps suddenly stopped.

"What am I to do?" the same robotic-voiced woman said. Cindo still couldn't see anything, he could hear the event transpiring.

"Hide? I'm no coward. I want my revenge."

The woman seemed to be talking to herself.

"I don't care if I'm the last one. They will pay for what they did to her. I'll kill them all."

"I'm sorry. I lost control."

Cindo heard a drawer opening and then closing back swiftly before the woman spoke again.

"What now?"

And then silence. No more footsteps, no more weird songs, just silence. That was until a couple of seconds later a soft orange light began shining through one of the drawers on the bottom part of the bookshelf, accompanied by the melody once again. Cindo approached it slowly. The drawer had no handle, so Cindo did the only other thing he could – he used the Force to pull it open.

The orange light was so intense he was forced to close his eyes. And then the light disappeared in a moment's notice and Cindo was left in complete silence and darkness of the room. He looked inside the drawer where upon closer inspection a small crystal lay. He hesitantly picked it up and tapped it a couple of times, secretly hoping for the mysterious orange light to appear again, but nothing happened. He inspected the small drawer further in case he had missed something but there was nothing else there.

Cindo slowly began piecing everything together. The weird melody and conversations he had been hearing all led him to this. The only thing that didn't make sense were the visions of past events he had experienced in that cave. Everything pointed towards him being supposed to find all these clues to eventually acquire that crystal. But what was it? And why did that woman place it there for him to find it?

Not having an answer to a single one of those questions he decided to put the small see-through crystal in his pocket and return to the group. He snuck out the same way he came and traversed the ring-shaped upper floor again by hiding below the raised edge. Moving to the other side of the walkway, he leaned on the wall and poked his head inside the library. Gladly the group was still there and after he made sure nobody was looking rejoined them.

"_The dark side festers within him."_

"_He does not yet know of it. It may be time for us to help him. He is not strong enough to face it alone and I feel that it will attempt to take him any day now."_

"_You are right. But what I'm worried most about is what happens after. He won't trust us especially if we tell him that he has to do what he has to do."_

"_We have seen the future. The Jedi will be his demise. We need to train him for the dark times ahead. None will be strong enough to face it. We must hide him until he achieves his potential."_

"_What if he does not want to leave?"_

_"Then we'll have to show him."_

"_He's a mere child. I don't expect he'll understand or believe us."_

* * *

_I'd like to apologise for the quality of the chapters. I know there are a lot of grammatical mistakes and I'll do my best to fix it after I finish my finals._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Lost Bloodline (29 BBY)

"Welcome Chancellor. It is always a pleasure to see you," Jedi Master Mace Windu greeted Chancellor Palpatine who had just arrived on the surface of Tython just before the tournament was about to begin.

"Likewise, Master Windu. I have been looking forward to seeing the new generation of our guardians. I feel the event will be most entertaining," Palpatine said.

The two then began walking side by side flanked by senate guards on each side. Palpatine had only been in the position of Chancellor for 3 years, replacing the much too ineffectual Valorium. In his time as Chancellor of the Republic he had secured many of the people's hearts and minds by being very active in every field and doing as much as he can to improve the lives of as many people as he could.

"I hear you're doing quite well in your somewhat new role," Windu said.

"These three years have been strenuous, but we have made much progress. Politics is a difficult and arduous job, but it is well worth the effort I have learnt. And you Jedi have been most helpful keeping things calm in the galaxy. We all sacrificed much in the Republic's time of need," Palpatine said, walking proudly with his hands behind his back. "But your order sacrificed much more than I ever could," he added before pausing for a moment. "This place, you have only discovered it recently?"

"A few months ago, yes. It is one of the ancient Jedi planets, but time has put a toll on the old structures," Windu informed him.

"Name what you need and you shall have it Master Jedi," Palpatine responded instantaneously without putting in a second thought. "I find that we don't put enough effort into preserving the past."

* * *

"_Do you sense that?"_

"_A sudden darkness creeping up upon the light."_

"_Yes. Sudden and surprising yet it still wants to remain hidden. The Jedi won't be able to sense it and so won't he."_

"_Be prepared for anything."_

* * *

Everyone was gathered at the tournament area where they eagerly awaited the last contestants. All of the combatants were there practicing for the big event and how it was big. Even more spectators showed up than at the part of the tournament that was held in the temple on Coruscant. There was excitement in the air. Everybody was waiting for the show to begin but something was missing.

Cindo was still at his tent. Sitting outside the part of the tent that faced the thick forest he inspected the crystal with great interest. He decided on not giving or even telling the masters about it even as strange as the circumstances of him acquiring it were. And that was exactly why he had been sitting there for half an hour already, just thinking about… everything. The crystal, to his disappointment still showed no signs of the intense orange light it produced to attract his attention. There was not much to the crystal except an odd bond – when Cindo was thinking about revealing its existence to the higher Jedi he felt as if something was suppressing those thoughts and persuading him to do otherwise. The crystal belonged to him he was more than sure of it given all the signs. But what was an empty crystal good for? The whole situation seemed well out of his age to understand completely or even a part of it if he was being honest to himself.

"I was searching everywhere for you," an exhausted Raz'yel said after bursting out of the tent. "Your match is about to begin."

Cindo luckily managed to squeeze his hands together just in the nick of the time before Raz'yel plunged through the fabric of the tent entrance. "I'm coming." Raz'yel immediately left for the tournament area while Cindo took one last glance at the crystal before putting it deep in his pocket and following his friend.

The crowd was ready and the stage was set for the event to continue. Only three more duels to win Cindo thought to himself, but there was also a darker thought that crept up on him. The idea of performing slightly worse to be done with it in one duel seemed more and more amusing as he could devote more time to just thinking about everything. He pushed the thought away – the crystal would have to wait.

So, an unprepared Cindo entered the circular fenced arena with the two practice lightsabers he was given. His opponent – a slightly older and taller Nautolan girl of green skin with a slight hint of blue. Cindo hadn't held a lightsaber for a week or so his grip and general stance felt a bit off even before the duel began. And once it did begin things got worse. It was as if he completely forgot how to fight. His blocks were slow, his footing bad to the point where he lost balance multiple times within the span of a few seconds and his attacks weak and inaccurate. Cindo felt completely out of control. Suddenly a weird sensation ran through his body – not the cold one like the day before when he experienced those odd visions, this one was much different and upon the next block a quick flash of white light blinded him for a short moment.

The odd sensation then went away and he felt as if he was back in control again. Cindo couldn't believe he had lasted this long while being completely out of it. But to his despair the sensation returned soon after he started getting his grip on the duel. The flash came again and again at varying times during the duel, keeping its intensity and soon Cindo started making out weird dark shapes in the middle of the light.

But Cindo kept up the fight through sheer willpower and after an excruciating three minutes of dueling he had managed to overpower his opponent even if he could not recall how he did it right after the duel ended. True fear he had experienced before and this was living up to join the list of moments. Cindo was so confused by the whole ordeal he didn't even know how he managed to find himself sitting under an open tent observing the next duel while eating food. He wanted to cry out for help as loud as he could but yet again something was holding him back, something was trying to take control.

His body shimmered and before noticing it he was already dueling his next opponent. His vision had gotten blurry, getting to the point where he could not make out his opponent. He observed his fighting in the few moments he could. His technique changed from a calculated and slow one to one of pure aggression but he knew that it wasn't him that was doing it – something wasn't only trying to take control, that something seemed to already be in control. Cindo was confused, afraid… he felt as if he wasn't even alive – he was just a distant observer trapped in a body and forced to see through its eyes. That was until everything went black.

* * *

_Cindo awoke in a place that seemed familiar but completely unknown at the same time. The state of the surroundings was the same as the last time he had been pulled into this sort of vision – dead flora including trees, foliage, flowers… They were all lifeless, the only difference being their positioning once again matched the place he just left. And yet again the world was shrouded in complete darkness._

_And same as last time a strong white light lit up the world. Once again a half-circle of white light but this time with two figures standing in it – a man and a woman. The same two figures he had seen in the flashes a few moments prior to being pulled into this place. _

"_Cindo." He couldn't believe it. It couldn't be._

"_Cindo," the soft voice repeated. It was the voice of his mother. "Come here Cindo."_

_All the fear and worry disappeared in an instant. That was one of his mother's greatest powers he remembered – to always make people feel better no matter how dark the times were. Her voice loosened him up. He began approaching them._

"_Come here son," his father said._

_As he was getting closer and closer he began feeling that something wasn't right. He had thrown away every connection to his past. Why was this happening? But it was only a vision. Surely, nothing could go wrong._

"_We've missed you," his mother said._

"_I missed you too." It felt good to be talking to his parents again and it seemed as if they were genuinely there. Perhaps it was his mind making them appear so he could just talk with them to forget what was happening. "I'm a Jedi now."_

_His mother chuckled. "Oh, are you now? Come closer so we can take a good look at you."_

_Step by step Cindo got closer to the light. The first time he was this close it burned his eyes but in this instance it was pleasant, welcoming… His mother stretched out her arm and Cindo was about to take it when._

"_Don't!"_

_An object of blue color went past his eyes cutting his mother's arm off. The flying object turned out to be a double-bladed lightsaber that flew right back into the hands of a person that was concealed by a hood, not far away._

"_Run!" she called out. _

_Cindo looked back at the light. The two figures began twisting in weird ways until eventually transforming into the weird black roots that pulled him into the light in an earlier vision. Before he could react one of them grabbed a hold of him and attempted to pull him in. The woman ran up in time to cut the black root off and give him a chance to pull himself away._

"_Go! I'll protect you," she said, cutting off the roots one by one as they came out of the light._

_Cindo picked himself up and began running. Before long he could hear the black roots winding through the floor like snakes, trying to catch him. At this point he was so far away from the light that the way he was running was completely dark again. Cindo ran hands first into a short wall. He took a moment to look up and saw that he bumped into a familiar looking statue – one of the ones in front of the temple. Making his way around the base of the statue he dashed for where he thought the Jedi temple doors were. It turned out that his memory was good as he ran up a set of stairs and burst through a giant double-door into the main hall of the Temple. The giant door swiftly closed behind him and he was left in darkness with the roots that were chasing him going quiet as well._

_The sudden sound of a lightsaber turning on grabbed his attention. He expected the blue lightsaber from the woman who rescued him but instead it turned out to be somebody different. They instead of having a blue double-bladed lightsaber carried a single orange colored one. The cloaked person slowly approached him, their blade lowered. Then another lightsaber turned on, this one being his rescuer's._

"_Who are you?" Cindo asked, frightened to his core._

_The two stopped walking once they got close. They put down their hoods and to Cindo's shock it turned out be the two women he saw in the visions in the cave albeit the human woman was wearing a breathing mask that covered most of the bottom half of her face._

"_We are your ancestors," the human spoke. Cindo compared her voice to the woman he had heard the day prior from those weird sound only visions and found them to be the same._

"_I am Keira, ex-Barsen'thor of the Jedi order," the human added._

"_And I am Myria, ex-member of the dark council," the Togruta said._

"_What's happening?" Cindo asked in distress._

"_The dark side is trying to take control of you."_

"_But how and why?"_

"_You will learn soon," Myria said. "First we must save you. We will speak again soon."_

_The two women then readied their lightsabers and began dashing towards the entrance. The last thing Cindo saw before everything went dark was Myria using the Force to blast the doors wide open._

* * *

Cindo dropped to his knees. He felt as if all life left him. The sounds of all the Jedi around him yelling were muffled and his view was hazy. All he could make out before falling to the ground was his opponent laying on the ground and some Jedi hurrying towards him.

As the chaos of the event unfolded Palpatine was able to sneak away from the confusion and get back on his ship. He swiftly put on his black cloak and locked him in his quarters. After a quick check of the room to see if anybody was listening in he turned on the holoprojector.

"My lord."

"Lord Tyrannus. I have just been part of a most interesting situation. It would seem like my old apprentice was right all along."

"Right about what?"

"The ancient blood of the Galicians still flows through the galaxy," Palpatine said before pausing for a few moments, planning his next move. "I have a new task for you."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Fear And Freedom (29 BBY)

For the second time in his life Cindo felt completely alone. After he woke up he found himself locked in a room on a ship. After the ship had landed on Coruscant a couple of Jedi led him to a room in the Temple, their only command being for him to not leave the room. He sat down on the one bed in the room and pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them. He had no idea what was going on.

"_What's going on?"_ he thought to himself.

"Nothing particularly good."

Cindo froze. He looked up slowly and saw the two woman from the vision standing there. They looked as if they were actually there.

"You aren't real," he argued.

"We are. And we are here to help you," Keira said, moving closer and sitting on the bed.

"Help me?" Cindo asked. He did nothing wrong why would they help him? And how were they in the same room as him? This had to be part of a nightmare or another vision he was having.

"There are many things you don't know about your true nature. There is a darkness within our blood, a darkness which has tainted our family for generations. It only appears in the ones that are force sensitive and it lurks until it sees a moment of weakness, using it to strike and take control," Keira explained. "You were on the brink of falling to its influence when we helped you."

"You said you were my ancestors. How are you here? Didn't you die thousands of years go?"

"We did. But our connection to the Force is strong enough so that we can be here. Nobody else can see us or hear us but you. The one that taught us how to do this says that it has something to do with being of the same bloodline," Keira said, pausing for a moment. "You must come with us."

"Why?"

"We are only to stop the darkness momentarily. If you do not conquer it, it will eventually become strong enough to overpower us. You must travel to an ancient planet where we learned how to conquer it. We will guide you and teach you along the way."

"But why can't you do it here?" Cindo argued. "The Jedi would help. They trust me."

Keira's expression turned into a sour one. She looked at Myria who had been with her back against the wall the entire time, inspecting her fingernails. "They don't trust you anymore," she said monotonously.

"Actually they're discussing how to get rid of you right now."

"But I didn't do anything!"

"No you didn't," Keira started. "We were too slow and didn't manage to stop the darkness in time. It took control of you for a couple of moments, long enough to strangle your poor opponent."

Cindo began tearing up. "I can explain to them…"

Keira interrupted him. "They won't believe you. I was in a similar situation. I was left alone. The council decided that it would be best for them to cleanse my mind of all memories and leave me on some planet in the outer rim. You may be faced with the same if not a worse fate."

Thinking for a couple of moments, he wiped his tears away and looked at them. "Okay. I'll do it."

Keira shifted closer to him and took his hand. Cindo's eyes widened at the fact that he could feel her gloved hands touching his. "I know it's hard. You're very young and the things you went through, I wouldn't wish them upon everybody else. But I promise you we will help you every step of the way."

And in the blink of an eye the two women disappeared with Cindo's hand subconsciously still suspended in the air. He contemplated the reality of everything that had happened. He wanted it to not be real but the more and more he thought about the events the more the whole situation began hitting him in the head.

Making way for the door he sensed a life signature right on the other side of it. He took a deep breath and pressed a button that opened the door revealing a Jedi guarding the door on the other side. The man turned towards him with his hand on his lightsaber hilt. Just as he was about to say something he froze before falling forwards.

Cindo confused looked at the unconscious body for a couple of short moments before he began running towards the Jedi Temple hangars. Luckily for him it was late so the giant hall he was traversing was mostly empty. The few temple guards who passed him on the way were easily avoided by him hiding behind the giant pillars. He eventually came upon the side hallway that would lead him to one of the hangars but he found himself unable to move forward. The hallway opposite to him led to the room where his clan resided. More than anything he wanted to go and say goodbye to everyone especially Raz'yel and Ahsoka. Yet he couldn't risk it. The unconscious Jedi would surely be found soon, giving Cindo no time to linger. Instead all that was left as a goodbye was a tear that dropped from his cheek down on to the carpet below him.

The hangar was nearly empty except for two temple guards that patrolled the large open space. One of the ships, a T-6 shuttle was primed and ready to be used. Cindo had never flown an actual ship but he had hundreds of hours in the simulators.

Sneaking his way through the maze of boxes, supplies and machinery, he made sure to keep out of sight of the two guards. Once he was close to the ship he saw one of the doors open. A Jedi frantically entered the room and told the guards to be on high alert for an youngling. They were also told to lock down the hangar immediately, which lowered Cindo's time of easing into piloting an actual ship if he would be able to get onboard in the first place. He was a few meters away from the ramp when he was forced to duck, letting one of the guards go past him. He quickly peeked his head out from above the boxes and saw that the guard was headed for the hangar door control panel.

Taking another glance around the hangar, locating the other guard, he dashed for the ramp. Quickly ascending it, he left it open for the time being as to not raise attention. Cindo knew there was no way for him to turn on the ship and fly it out before the guards would close the hangar bay doors, so he made a quick search of the ship. In the storage compartment he found a belt of 3 EMP grenades which he snapped off the rack and took with him to the cockpit. He began the ignition sequence before running out of the ship and after a few moments of attempting to prime one of the grenades he threw it at the guard who had been alerted by the engine noises.

Thinking it was a thermal detonator, the guard jumped away from the grenade. Cindo ran back up the ramp and quickly retracted it before the other guard could enter the ship. From the cockpit he observed the control panel sparking which enabled him to carefully take off and head for space.

When he was out of the atmosphere he looked at the navicomputer and noticed that the location had changed itself on its own. "So, where are we going?" he asked the two women.

"Odessen."

* * *

20 BBY

"_It's up to you now to carve a path through life. Whether it will be dark - filled with hate, anger, evil or light – full of peace, happiness… maybe even love is up to you. Perhaps it will even be both. But remember, you are not bound to a code or an institution or anything else. You are free."_

Freedom still felt like a completely new experience for Cindo. Free of the reigns of the Jedi code, free of the endless green and brown plains of Dantooine, free of the looming threat of the dark side taking control. It had taken years but finally after he had finished his multi-year long training on the lost planet of Odessen he was free to do whatever he wanted.

His enjoyment of remembering his freedom was cut short by a metallic object poking at his forehead. He pushed it away and sighed. "No HK, I'm not dead."

"Great news!" The droid said ecstatically. He helped Cindo clean the last few bits of leftover carbonite from his clothes before handing him his black hooded trench coat. Putting it on he fastened the belt that was attached on the outside of the coat so that it flailed around less while moving and performing acrobatics.

HK was a droid unlike any other. Built more than 3000 years ago he still functioned like new and that's because he practically was. His official designation was HK-60 which made him the most advanced HK model ever developed. Sophisticated targeting algorithms, a plethora of different weaponry for every situation and a fun and unique personality Cindo grew to love made him the perfect companion for any mission.

"While you were frozen, I took the liberty of cleaning your weaponry Master. I hope you will be most pleased," HK said while walking to another part of the ship.

Having a particular skillset and motivations Cindo decided early on after his training that getting a normal job and living an average life was no wish of his. A big thing that limited Cindo was the ongoing war between the Republic and The Separatist Alliance and the inability to return to the Republic as he feared being discovered by the Jedi. He never knew if they decided to search for him or just forget about him, but it was best to play safe. So, after a while he gathered up the courage and admitted to himself that his best chance at making a living with his skills was bounty hunting.

Up to this point it had mostly been saving close relatives, protecting cargo and assassinating criminals but this job was different. He was hired to protect a duo of self-proclaimed tomb raiders Jorgis and Alee. They were paying an insurmountably high hourly rate and for good reason – the place this supposed tomb was located was on the planet Lola Sayu. A large Separatist controlled prison complex was on it, making the planet heavily defended. Capital ships formed a blockade around the planet and ran biometric scans on every arriving ship thus making carbonite freezing a necessary part of the plan.

"Why haven't you thawed the others out too?" Cindo asked looking around the cargo hold. Alongside him two others were hired – a Kyuzo male by the name of Embo and a Zabrak woman named Sugi. Cindo had seen them both before roaming the various locales of various bounty hunter preferred establishments but he had never worked with them directly, but he could tell that they went along well.

"Master to speak frankly I have my doubts about this whole operation," HK admitted.

"How so?"

"This chassis was an upgrade to my old self, meaning that I kept a lot of old parts – one of them being my memory core. As you know I can track the coordinates of where we are everywhere in the galaxy and I can positively tell you that the coordinates of this planets are identical to a set of coordinates I was at previously but I don't remember ever hearing of a planet called Lola Sayu."

"Then what was the name of the planet that had the same coordinates?" Cindo inquired.

"Belsavis, an ancient Republic prison world. The planet was full of tombs, most of them retrofitted into prison blocks but a lot were left untouched," HK explained. "Oh, and I also don't remember Belsavis looking like an acid pit," he said looking out a viewport at the glowing yellow planet below.

"In case it is the same place we'll be very careful. For now get the others thawed out but don't mention it to anybody." The droid nodded and headed off to free the rest of the crew, leaving Cindo alone with the box of equipment HK brought with him from the other part of the ship.

Cindo removed the lid of the container, exposing the mask he had gotten as a gift after finishing his training on Odessen. A heavily customized RSKF-44 blaster pistol featuring a lighter barrel which also alongside making the pistol much lighter made it so it fired one bolt at a time much faster than the stock two bolt firing barrel and a custom built retractable glaive were laid out beneath it. The glaive was designed to be a lethal and non-lethal weapon at the same time featuring a dull blade with circular holes in it that would split in two along its length and emit a soft orange blade from the kyber crystal rooted in the weapon's core.

He attached the glaive sheath on the back of his coat and the blaster holster on his belt. While doing that the others were thawed out and began equipping themselves.

The area they would be visiting was supposedly an old and now unused and cut off section of the citadel. Jorgis and Alee had sent a probe down there a month prior to see if there was any activity. The report came back positive and they had launched their operation of finding a security team just in case something would change.

"Interesting choice of weapons kid," Sugi commented, approaching him. "I've been meaning to ask you. Why do you wear that mask?"

Cindo held the mask as far in front of him as he could and pulled out his blaster pistol, immediately firing at it. A cloud of smoke appeared at the impact point and once it cleared there was no hole or practically any visible damage on it.

"Huh, that's interesting," she commented.

"What did I tell you?" the fast-speaking Alee squabbled. He spoke very fast and was sometimes hard to understand especially due to having a Twi'lek accent only way thicker. The short and admittedly fat human hailed from an Outer Rim planet, same as his taller brother Jorgis who was way easier to understand.

"No shooting on my ship," he continued after not receiving an answer.

"Your ship?" Jorgis said with a raised brow.

"Our ship," Alee corrected himself.

"Our ship?" Jorgis returned, crossing his arms.

"Why do you always have to do this to me? Why? They all know we stole it. How else would we get a separatist shuttle you crétin?" Alee said.

Jorgis chuckled. "Don't worry little brother," he said putting his hand on his shoulder. "It was simply an exercise in honesty. It's something you seriously lack my little fellow."

"Now," he said turning to the bounty hunters. "The details of the bounty were vague with good reason, even we do not know what we will find down there. We don't even know what the structure looks like but we know that there is valuable treasure down there. This part of the Citadel supposedly hasn't been touched in more than a century with the probe we sent only confirming that claim. So, we will be alone until we enter the facility at least. Beyond that point is where your expertise would come in but hopefully they will not be needed."


End file.
